If you are considering a 5-series -- GS competition

[NoSoup4U]

We've just introduced the car at the Detroit auto show this morning. Here is the press release

Lexus introduced the new GS luxury sport sedan today at a press conference at the North American International Auto Show. The all-new, more powerful GS utilizes the latest in advanced technology to improve both performance and handling and is the first in a new wave of Lexus products to reflect a new, more passionate direction in styling.

"From a technology standpoint, the GS employs a sophisticated array of advanced safety, comfort and convenience features that will cause even the most enthusiastic driver to take notice," said Denny Clements, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "From a design standpoint, the new GS will be the first vehicle in our lineup to benefit from a new, more passionate direction in styling."

First All-Wheel Drive Model
Significantly, the new GS will feature all-wheel-drive, the first such application in any Lexus car, and offer the performance enhancements and advanced vehicle control of the Lexus Vehicle Dynamic Management (VDM) system. Monitoring a variety of sensors, the system is capable of anticipating the onset of a vehicle skid or slide and then helps correct the situation with a combination of braking and throttle control. The new VDM system is less obtrusive than conventional VSC but ultimately more effective.

Performance Optimized
Joining the potent and refined 4.3-liter V8 will be an all-new 245-horsepower V6 engine replacing the current inline six. Both the powerful V6 and V8 engines benefit from an all-new close-ratio 6-speed automatic transmission with a sequential manual-shifting mode. The combination provides faster and substantially smoother acceleration for even better performance and, surprisingly, improved fuel economy. A new Adaptive Variable Suspension allows the driver to fine-tune suspension damping with four settings ranging from normal-mode for everyday driving to a sport-mode for a tighter, more precise feel.

New Lexus Design Direction
From an architectural standpoint, the GS marks a move towards a more sculptural direction... that is artistic, dynamic, simple... yet intriguing. A two-inch longer wheelbase and short overhangs on the new GS creates a wide, powerful stance. A long hood, pulled-back cabin and slingshot windows recall classic sports car proportions and the vertical grille surrounded by four independent headlamps connects the new GS with the outgoing model, but with a futuristic look. The front also features an aggressive lower valence with integrated fog lamps. Dynamic 18-inch wheels on the V8 model help tie the muscular yet elegant look together.

The creation of a unique spatial feeling in the passenger compartment is central to the new Lexus design direction. The interior of the new GS has a precision, luxury feel with ultra-premium wood, polished metal and leather accents. Everything inside the GS is designed and styled to create a haven for peaceful comfort and relaxation, from contoured and supportive front seats with optional climate control to the standard 10-speaker audio system with simple steering wheel controls.

New Intelligent Luxury Sport Sedan
In addition to a new look and feel, the new GS also improves upon the increasingly complex nature of automotive technology. The GS offers numerous standard features, such as a keyless SmartAccess that allows the driver to lock, unlock and start the car simply by touching the door handle (with a key fob in pocket) and then simply pressing a push-button to start. An advanced Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPM) can detect and notify the driver, via an indicator warning light, of a significant loss in pressure in one or more tires, a condition that could potentially lead to premature tire wear and loss of control. The GS will also feature the Adaptive Front lighting System (AFS), which helps illuminate a turn or curve as the driver steers into it.

A rear back-up camera is also added for 2006, providing an extra margin of confidence when reversing the vehicle. Available in conjunction with the optional navigation system, it automatically projects an image of what the camera lens can detect behind the vehicle onto the navigation screen when the vehicle is in the reverse gear.

"With the new GS we took all that was good in terms of technology and found ways to make it more intuitive, more intelligent and more relevant to the needs of its driver," said Clements.

Advanced Safety Features
The GS will also offer an optional Pre-Collision System (PCS) that can help reduce collision injury and damage. The system uses a millimeter-wave radar sensor to detect obstacles in front of the car and a pre-collision system computer with vehicle speed, steering angle and yaw rate inputs that help to determine in advance whether a collision is unavoidable. The system then preemptively retracts front seat belts and prepares Brake Assist for increased braking force to help reduce collision speed.

In addition, the new GS gains new knee airbags for the driver and front passenger as well as front and rear side curtain airbags as standard equipment. The Supplemental Restraint System in the new GS also includes variable-force front airbags for both driver and front passenger. Sensors determine the severity of the accident and in turn the force with which to deploy the front airbags, helping to provide the appropriate level of occupant restraint.

"Nearly every feature on the GS makes this sports sedan more manageable and more engaging to drive," said Clements.

Preliminary Specifications
Wheelbase: 112.2 in.
Length: 189.8 in.
Width: 71.7 in.
Height: 56.1 in.
Engines: 3.0 liter V6 - 245 hp; 228 lb.-ft. of torque
4.3 liter V8 - 300 hp; 325 lb.-ft. of torque
Transmission: 6-speed sequential automatic

[NoSoup4U]

[NoSoup4U]

Lexus info
Lexus set to redesign car line by 2007, add performance unit


By MARK RECHTIN | Automotive News

DETROIT - How high is high enough? How big is too big?

Those are the questions facing Lexus Division, which won the best-selling luxury brand title for the fourth straight year in 2003.

It also has accumulated more J.D. Power accolades than any other luxury brand, boasts the industry's highest sales per dealer and is among the leaders in dealer profitability.

But Denny Clements, Lexus general manager, says the brand has fallen into a predictable rhythm - and he wants to change that.

"We launch a car, then have a minor change after three years, and then a redesign two years after that," Clements said during an interview at the Detroit auto show.

"Meanwhile, the Europeans have new product news and variations coming every year, and they're always on magazine covers. Lexus needs to be like that. Lexus needs to have something always going on. It needs to have that buzz."

Clements said Lexus and parent Toyota Motor Corp. have set this stir-things-up agenda for the next few years:

A new distinct design specific to Lexus, to be seen first in the 2005 GS 430 and evolving from there.

A redesign of each car line by spring 2007.

All-wheel drive availability with the redesigns.

The addition of a flagship above the LS 430.

The creation of a factory performance division, akin to Mercedes-Benz's AMG.

Except for the launch of the RX 400h hybrid sport wagon late this year, the next 12 months will be static in terms of product. But in early 2005 the spigot will begin opening wide.

After spending the last several years bulking up in SUVs, Lexus is returning to its core strength: luxury cars. The next-generation GS 430 and GS 300 sport sedans, which will arrive in early 2005, will be followed by the replacements for the IS 300, ES 330 and LS 430, all arriving by spring 2007.

Jim Press, COO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., says most Lexus growth will come from the lower end of the lineup.

While Lexus will not go any further downmarket than the IS 300 sport sedan, which starts at $29,980, he said the next generation will offer several versions when it arrives in fall 2005. The IS 300's current volume of 1,000 units a month comes from just two derivatives, a sedan and an all-but-ignored wagon.

"The key to volume growth is the IS 300," Press said at the Detroit show. "It's in a price category where having volume is OK. It's feeder stock for future Lexus purchases."

Clements promises the IS 300 replacement will do a better job competing against the BMW 3 series and its 16 variants, which sell about 10,000 units a month.

"We'll have a sedan, coupe and convertible, all-wheel drive and a couple of engine choices," Clements said. "It's a huge opportunity. Right now the IS 300 has a cult following, but we could be doing 5,000 or 6,000 units a month."

That kind of volume growth would extend Lexus well past the 300,000-unit mark, which consultant Eric Noble of The Car Lab in Orange, Calif., warns is a danger point.

"They are risking dilution of the brand," says Noble. "There is no evidence that a luxury brand can sell more than 250,000 units sustainably. That Lexus, Mercedes and BMW are all flirting with the cliff edge doesn't make it any safer a place."

At the Tokyo auto show last year, Lexus unveiled a new look that it calls its own design language. No longer will Lexus vehicles be rebadged versions of Japan-market Toyotas.

The first vehicle to show the new look will be the 2006 GS 430 and GS 300. "The design will not be cookie-cutter, but there will be similar cues across the line," Clements said.

To critics who pan Lexus styling as bland, Clements says, "Vanilla is the best-selling ice cream. But we'll have some other flavors, too."

Lexus also will have dedicated engineering teams from now on, not transferees from a Toyota vehicle project reassigned to do a more upscale Lexus version. Toyota and Lexus product development teams will compete against each other to create the best vehicle.

"Whatever products we need, we'll get," Clements said. "The product planners, designers and chief engineers now are all Lexus-dedicated. There will be more performance, bigger and better wheels, things like that."

But while Clements predicts big things for the GS 430 and IS 300 replacements, no vehicle gets him more emotional than the pending redesign of the LS 430.

It is more than just a redesign of Lexus' flagship. He promises that the new version "will be 1989 all over again," a reference to the splash Lexus made at its debut.

"It will make the same impact as the original," Clements said.

George Peterson, president of the AutoPacific consulting firm in Tustin, Calif., says the next Lexus flagship needs to make that kind of impact.

"The LS 430 scores at the top of the list of all our surveys," Peterson says. "It does everything as well or better as customers expect. But it doesn't have that passionate visual appeal. If Lexus is going to deliver on a more passionate appearance, then the LS 430 is the place to go."

Clements foresees future Lexus vehicles offering programmable vehicle-dynamic software. He believes drivers will pay a premium for a vehicle that can be adjusted to perform according to a driver's mood.

That means a Lexus owner could drive a road rocket one day, a grand tourer the next and a luxury cruiser the day after that - all with the touch of a button or switch. Although the technology sounds like a long shot for the next-generation products, Clements believes software is advancing fast enough to make it possible.

"If we add technology, it needs to be intuitive and something Americans don't want to have to work at to enjoy," he said. "Americans don't read owners manuals, and they don't want three-hour seminars to learn how to use their car."

Lexus also is moving to adopt awd. Clements concedes that the brand has lost customers in the snow belt by not equipping its cars with awd.

Executives also confirmed that a long-rumored super-luxury Lexus is closer to reality, a model that would go up against sedans such as the Mercedes S600 and BMW 7 series. Executives are mum on whether that means a hybrid powertrain, a stretched wheelbase for the LS 430 or a V-12 pulled from the Japan-market Century. But it is clear that the car will happen.

"It's not an issue of if, but when," Press said. "We just need to work out the business case, development cost and volume estimates."

Lexus also will take a page from the Germans by creating a performance division similar to Mercedes-Benz's AMG unit and BMW's M brand.

Lexus' first attempt, the L-Tuned accessories line, was aborted last year because it mostly offered appearance add-ons that had little to do with performance.

Clements said the next iteration will be better.

"An AMG-type sub-brand is coming," he said. "We have to have those image products."

Susan Jacobs, president of luxury brand specialist Jacobs & Associates in Rutherford, N.J., agrees that Lexus is on the right track by working to expand its product lineup and technical base.

"One of Lexus' major drawbacks has been a very limited lineup, primarily in terms of body styles and powertrain options," she said in an interview last week.

"There were pockets of luxury buyers that went to the German makers that Lexus didn't and couldn't appeal to.

"The major strength for Lexus going forward will be the greater variety of product and greater functionality, such as all-wheel drive."

But for all the near-term changes, Lexus bosses are not about to forget what got them to the pinnacle.

"We can't lose sight of the fact that Lexus is, first, a luxury car," Clements said. "We're not here to reinvent ourselves. We just sold 260,000 vehicles to people who love our products."

[mike]

It's kind of bulbous, like a VW and a .........(every other car on the market) plus automatic transmissions are just NO FUN. Maybe its just me but I hate the idea of having to walk up to a car and read the badge to tell what it is. It's like the highschool kids that strive to look and act different and end up all looking the same. With that being said It's probably a nice car.

[JRG_in_MD]

I like the look from the rear, certainly more so than the new 5-series, but the front is forgetable. I also like the control console, that is a lot cleaner that the new 5-er, but I don't see how you access all of the info this beast may have. Finally, I hate the auto-only option. It confirms that you can't believe them when they say this is really a 'driver's car.' The E-39 was the pinnacle, as far as I am concerned.

[almonte96b]

The E-39 was the pinnacle, as far as I am concerned.

You got that right! I am saddened to say it, but Bungle..I mean Bangle will forever be known as the man who made BMW ugly. If I ever get another BMW it will be an e39 M5. Hopefully by then someone with sense enough to know that when you have a masterpiece you make subtle changes with your paintbrush. Instead we got someone who went in and brutally butchered what was truly a work of art.

www.petitiononline.com/STOPCB/petition.html

<-- Eek! Hideous!

[BahnBaum]

Funny that they list all the specs except weight.

Alex

[jkuper]

Same as e39...39xx if i recall correctly

[Phat Ham]

Same as e39...39xx if i recall correctly

curb weight of the e39 540/6 is 3748 lbs per the owner's manual.